Aaron Siegel & Tracy K. Smith – I Will Tell You The Truth About This, I Will Tell You All About It

released digitally February 7th, 2025

“I Will Tell You…” is based around a ten-poem sequence by Tracy K. Smith that describes in vivid detail the lives of African American soldiers and their families during the Civil War. The texts for the oratorio come from letters that Smith found in the National Archives. Rather than create her own poems based on these texts, Smith decided to preserve the voices of the authors by selecting segments to organize into collage-like poems. Orchestrated for an eight voice chamber choir and piano trio by Aaron Siegel, this oratorio is a gripping tribute to these overlooked lives and stories from a pivotal time in American history.

Michele Kennedy, Soprano
Veronica Chapman-Smith, Soprano
Guadalupe Peraza, Mezzo-Soprano
AnnMarie Sandy, Mezzo-Soprano
Andrew Fuchs, Tenor
Gregorio Taniguchi, Tenor
Dana Whiteside, Baritone
Wayne Arthur, Baritone

Longleash
Pala Garcia, Violin
John Popham, Cello
Julia Den Boer, Piano

text by Tracy K. Smith
composed by Aaron Siegel

Recorded Live at Merkin Concert Hall by Jeff Cook, November 2023
Mixed and Mastered by Jeff Cook
photo from the National Archives of the United States